Trigger
by Marshmallow Fudge Up
Summary: [AU] In childhood, his father was an alcoholic, his mother was a beaten housewife, and his brother was an innocent. In self-preservation, Alfred hid himself within a fantasy world of black and white- mistrusting of all. In present time, Alfred is stupid, immature, and happy. At least, that's what he wants you to think. Loneliness affects us all- and Alfred is not excluded. [US/UK]
1. Life is Paranormal

Trigger

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Spit flies as their lips part over teeth; tongues dancing to meet every syllable. Her eyes are violent waves, salt tainting. His eyes an unreachable sky, a smokey fire lit.

He sits on his hard bed, in his cold room, and tries to watch TV. He is trembling only slightly. He tries to ignore the shouts. He tries to distract himself. He tries to pretend nothing's wrong.

He's interested in the meerkat documentary playing in front of him. He thought the animals were kinda cute. Soon enough, however, it ended. Right on schedule, the next show started to play. His undeveloped face changed from blank to stressed.

Paranormal television. Clumsily, he reached for the remote controller, and changed it without a second thought. He was _terrified_ of ghosts. He quickly found a generic cartoon to get lost in.

A couple hours later, the shouts had died down. His stomach churning from nerves and hunger from not eating lunch, he opened his door. And then promptly shut it after catching sight of his drunk dad swaying back and forth in the middle of the hall.

His name is Alfred F Jones, and he is eleven years old.

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I promise that there _is _a plot. It will widen as the chapters go on. The size of the chapters will vary. Updates will be frequent.

- Mallow


	2. If Not a Test, a Quiz

Trigger

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Alfred shifted in front of the woman, feeling slightly uncomfortable at her stare. Her dark eyes bore into his face, and he felt like she was reading into his every action. He idly wondered if this was how they treated Matthew.

"So, to start off things, I want to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Kaleigh, but you can call me K!" She said with an encouraging smile, her dark, smooth, and plump cheeks rounded and high on her cheerful face. Her stretched lips showed her teeth- a glaring contrast with her skin. Although the pretty lady left him awkward, he had to admit that he felt safe with her. "I'm here to help women like your mommy!"

Alfred nodded, unsure of what else to do. He didn't like discussing why his mom needed help. His focus drifted away from the woman in front of him, a small frown tugging at his mouth.

"Now, how about you introduce yourself?" Dr. K suggested. Alfred's eyes widened, the blue darting to the African-American's general direction, before gazing down at his lap. His heart jolted in his chest, stomach tightening with nerves.

"W-Well... my name's Alfred." He left it at that, cheeks warming. He was always a shy child.

"Nice to meet you, Alfred." The 11-year-old didn't look back up. "I want you to answer me these questions. It's not a test, so don't worry about it!"

Alfred slowly brought his attention back, and he nodded. "Okay."

"I'm going to read these sentences out loud. You are going to give me a 'yes, no,' or 'I don't know'. Do you understand?"

"Yes." He replied, face blank.

"Alright! Here we go," Dr. Kaleigh said, picking up a piece of paper from her desk.

"I feel safe here." Alfred confirmed it with a yes, fingers digging into the chair he was sitting in. The room was small, leaving him a little claustrophobic.

"My mom has hurt me physically." Alfred's eyebrows rose in shock.

"_No._" He denied immediately, a little shocked.

"My dad has hurt me physically."

Alfred paused. His father... has hurt him. But rarely. Only twice, from what he could remember. Both times didn't _really _hurt- he wasn't bleeding or anything. So did it count as a yes or a no?

"I don't know." he responded honestly.

"I am comfortable with my mom." he said yes.

"I am comfortable with my dad." he said no.

"My mom has threatened me." She's threatened to take away his stuff. She's threatened to put him in time out. She's threatened to hit him for doing something bad. He hesitantly answered yes, unsure if he was correct in answering or not.

"My dad has threatened me." No problem there. He instantly replied with a yes.

"_I'll send you both to different orphanages, and you'll be separated forever!_" "_Clean up this mess now, or else I'll beat you with my belt!"_ "_Do what you're told, or no dinner tonight!"_

Alfred shifted in his seat, a grimace crossing his face, before it was lifted into a smooth expression.

"I am comfortable at school." I don't know.

"I think I am beautiful." I don't know.

"I feel healthy and active." I don't know.

Dr. Kaleigh's pen scribbled madly across the paper. She didn't even glance up as she spoke.

"I have touched my siblings inappropriately."

The only thing he could think of was wrestling. Matthew did cry sometimes, when it went too far. His mother always did yell at him when they got rough. She did say that violence was wrong.

"I don't know."

More statements were thrown his way, varying from abuse to feelings to self-esteem, and when it was finally over, he was sent back to his room. Alfred sat on his bed, looking dissatisfied. He felt confused, and slightly annoyed. He didn't think he answered those right...

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This is only a look into Alfred's past. There will be a couple more memories before the true story begins. The reason why I am doing this is because Alfred's childhood greatly affects the reason why he acts the way he does later on.

So don't ask where the plot is- I promise there'll be one...

By the way, Alfred wasn't in a "therapy session". The story will explain later what's going on in this scene.

- Mallow


End file.
